The Hammer of Thor

The party in Chapter 54 is an example of focusing on the wrong thing. Thor celebrates finding his hammer, completely ignoring that Loki has been freed and that Ragnarok can begin. Thor may know what the hotel manager tells Magnus’s group—that reimprisoning Loki will delay Ragnarok—but based on Thor’s character, it’s more likely that he simply wants to celebrate and blow things up, such as the army in Midgard he references. The squirrel in the World Tree (Ratatoskr) foreshadows the impending conflict in the following book. Ratatoskr spends his days delivering false messages between the inhabitants of the tree, and much like Loki, the squirrel thrives off chaos. Here, Ratatoskr is more agitated than normal, meaning dark times are ahead.

Chapter 55 ties up loose ends and sets up for the sequel. The information Sam gathers from Odin is not shared in full, but it will likely factor into the group’s preparations over the coming months. The conversation between Blitz and Magnus about Hearth foreshadows Hearth returning to Alfheim to deal with the unfinished business of his family. In Norse myth, daisies are the sacred flower of Freya (goddess of love, beauty, and fertility), and they represent new beginnings. Frey and Freya are worshiped by the elves, and Hearth likely left these flowers behind to let Magnus know that he’s all right. The flowers also quietly symbolize how Hearth will begin anew in the next book once he comes to terms with his brother’s death and whatever happened to Mr. Alderman after the nokk attack.

Alex identifies as both male and female in Chapter 54. When Alex is upset, he’s male, and once Alex calms down and tells Magnus about being worried for Sam, Alex shifts to female. Alex doesn’t control when or why her identity changes, but based on this scene, it appears Alex identifies as male when he feels threatened and female when she has a plan or is taking action. Alex identified as female through most of the book, including when she was afraid and feeling threatened by the giants and Loki, and so any assignment of reasons for when Alex may have a certain identity are conjecture. Alex does not consciously know why she is a certain gender at a certain time, but her subconscious may understand and shift in accordance with her conscious focus.

Chapter 56 brings the story full circle. It began with Sam and Magnus meeting for coffee, which got interrupted by Sam reaping Alex’s soul and then by all the subsequent events. This time, Magnus and Sam get through their entire meeting, bringing closure to their earlier attempt. This ending also highlights Sam’s character arc as she confesses her long-term plans during this meeting. Both she and Magnus have grown and changed in many ways since their initial coffee meeting in the beginning chapters, and Sam now understands her future path. While she loves being a Valkyrie and knows her work is important, all the danger makes her realize she loves Amir more and wants to live a life with him away from the unpredictability of the Norse gods. Magnus is sad that Sam will resign from the Valkyries because he’s come to value and trust her, but he understands her feelings and can’t begrudge her wanting to be happy.

The final chapter foreshadows the various pantheons of Riordan’s story world coming together. Annabeth is a main character in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and the girlfriend of Percy, a son of Poseidon. Percy will help with Magnus’s sea troubles in the next book, but it is otherwise unclear how much of a role the Greek gods or demigods might play in the battle against Loki. Annabeth’s question about multiple gods of the same thing calls to the existence of many religions and pantheons. Poseidon and Ran may share power, or one may have the power depending on which group (demigods or einherjar) are calling upon the gods.